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King Coal and Coke Company
King Mine No. 98 Explosion

Kimball, McDowell County, West Virginia
March 28, 1916
No. Killed - 10

USBM Final Investigation Report  (1.3 Mb)  PDF Format
List of Fatalities and Injuries  PDF Format
Taken from the Final Investigation Report above
The Deceased:
  • William Abbott, 48
  • Jack Bowman
  • Jim Brown
  • Joe Davis, 30, Mine Foreman
  • Tom Evans
  • Pompey Ford
  • Dan Hardin
  • Howard Jordan, 35
  • C. H. Mann, 27
  • James Tucker, 35
The Injured:
  • Harrison Banner, 25
  • Arthur Brown, 19
  • J. L. Fitts, 30
  • Moot Hancock, 37
  • Walter Hawkins, 40
  • Hy Hostin, 25
  • James Hostin, 35
  • Clarence Jones, 23
  • Norman Martin, 40
  • John Morton, 16
  • Sandy O'Neal, 24
  • Sam Raney, 28
  • Willie Wade, 26
  • Eugene Wallington, 17
As listed for McDowell County on March 28, 1916 in the West Virginia Mine Accident Index


Successful Rescue

Following the explosion, rescuers worked throughout the morning to free a large number of miners.  Masses of coal and slate and cut off their escape.  At 2 p.m., it was stated that all the men who had entered the mine had been accounted for.


Mine Explosion Fatal to Three
The Lincoln Daily Star, Nebraska
March 28, 1916

Bluefield, W. Va., March 28. -- Three men were killed and twenty or more seriously injured by an explosion in the mine of the King Coal & Coke Company at Kimball, W. Va., at 9 o'clock today.  It was stated that a number of the injured could not recover.

The explosion, which shattered a section in the eastern part of the mine, blew down masses of coal and slate and cut off from escape a large number of men.  Rescue crews worked throughout the morning to reach them and shortly after noon they were released.  At 2 p.m., it was stated that all the men who had entered the mine had been accounted for.




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